A Congress of Cowards

This is an open letter to Brad Miller, Howard Coble, John Warner, Chuck Hagel, Nancy Pelosi, and all the other cowards living in Washington on my money.

I have heard all that I can stand from these people about the war in Iraq. It's time for leaders to LEAD. These folks aren't leading, they are reacting to poll numbers. Yes, poll numbers. The process where a few thousand people are interviewed and the numbers are extrapolated in an attempt to reflect the thoughts of 300 million Americans. I don't believe that polls work. Jesse Helms rarely led in the polls, never lost an election. Go figure!

I keep hearing that Americans don't want their sons and daughters to die in Iraq. I can agree with that but it is an incomplete discussion. Do you want them to die sitting at their desks in a building when a hijacked jet slams into it? Do they want their sons' throats slashed by hijackers? Do they want their sons to die as a hijacked plane crashes to earth? Do they want their children to die as they sleep in a barracks blown up by terrorists? Do we let them die as they attempt to rescue others from falling buildings? We have lost more of our sons and daughters through the afore mentioned methods than through the War in Iraq.

Does anyone in Congress study history? Do they even study current events? Examine all the terrorist attacks on Americans over the last 30 years and see what they have in common. I'll give you a hint, almost all involve young Muslim males. We were at war with these folks before G.W. Bush became President. Any doubt that this is true should have vanished on September 11, 2001.

Where do you want to fight this war? Do we take the war to their homelands and fight it there? Do we fight it at skyscrapers in New York, Chicago,and other large cities? Do we fight it on planes and in airports? Do you want to fight this war in the mountains of Afghanistan or the Poconos? Do we fight it in the streets of Baghdad or the streets of Boston? Do we just go ahead and spot them everything east of the Mississippi? The answer is obvious, we take the war to them and make them die defending their families and their homes.

We are having problems in Iraq now because we have not applied sufficient force to get their attention. We are so busy trying to be nice that we are dying rather than taking actions to protect our troops. If it takes every brigade we have, send them. What are we saving them for? This is the biggest threat we have currently.

The cowards in Congress are talking about bringing everyone home this year. Look around the globe, boys. We still have troops in Korea half a century after the end of that war. We have troops in Japan and German 62 years after the end of that war. Why haven't we brought home the troops from those countries??

I have heard all the "Exit Strategy" bullshit that I can stand!! Just be honest and use the word "retreat". Again we turn to history for some pointers. In the dark days of December, 1944 when the German counter-offensive in the Ardennes turned into the Battle of the Bulge, thousands of Americans were taken prisoner. Thousands more were killed and wounded in the battle. The 101st Division was surrounded at Bastogne. Do you think that Eisenhower called FDR and asked, "Mr. President, the situation is pretty serious. We are getting our asses kicked up in the Ardennes and our boys are surrounded at Bastogne. What is our exit strategy?" HELL, NO !!!!! He sent Patton and his army to relieve Bastogne and push the Germans back. France is a free nation today because Ike didn't have an "exit strategy". Did Grant ask Lincoln for an "exit strategy" after the Battle of the Wilderness? Did Washington spend the winter at Valley Forge putting together an "exit strategy"? Did John Paul Jones have an "exit strategy" when he brought the Bonhomme Richard alongside the Serapis? Sam Houston couldn't even spell "exit strategy" when he burned the bridges that he could have used to escape at San Jacinto. All of these LEADERS won because they were committed to winning and would settle for nothing less.

The American People expect you to take action against these people who would do us harm. If you are opposed to fighting this war against them in Iraq, tell us where we will fight it.

We elect people to lead. If you cannot lead, find another job.